Success Story: Oncology Nursing Certificate Corporation

Client Profile:

The Oncology Nursing Certificate Corporation (ONCC) is a non-profit organization that develops, administers and evaluates programs for certification in oncology nursing. ONCC was incorporated in 1984 and is governed by a Board of Directors, which is comprised of nurses who represent various levels of certification in oncology nursing and one member who represents the public at large. The leadership of ONCC and its 32,000 voting constituency are dedicated to promoting excellence in patient care and professional practice by validating specialized knowledge in oncology nursing and related specialties.

Client Challenge:

As Product Manager at ONCC, I manage the organization’s marketing efforts. My responsibilities include website initiatives, strategic communications, producing promotional materials and overseeing our marketing plan. In addition, I manage our board of director elections that occur nearly every year.

Prior to working with Survey & Ballot Systems, ONCC’s election was a slow and inefficient paper process. It was taking an excessive amount of time to get the ballots mailed back to the third-party administrator and manually tabulate results. The organization was also concerned about the cost of printing the ballot materials and the increasing price of postage.

Our Board of Directors decided that ONCC needed a new voting method. The goal was to find a user-friendly, cost-effective system.

SBS Solution:

The solution was to retain a partner that could provide efficient online elections for ONCC voters. Three different vendors were considered for the job, including Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS), a company that came recommended through an affiliate organization.

SBS was selected based on comfort level – they had a straightforward approach and didn’t make unrealistic promises.

SBS helped ONCC transition to an online voting method that has been problem free from year one. Voters receive a link to candidate biographies before the election, a “heads-up” email from ONCC announcing the election and email reminders deployed by SBS to encourage voting. If we don’t have a voter’s email address on file or if an email message bounces back, a special letter is sent with detailed instructions for voting online. The new election system was a big change for ONCC voters, but we received zero complaints after putting it into operation. Voters liked the easy to use system; I appreciated the efficiency of the process. The changeover was a success.

After working with SBS over the past few years, the election process continues to be well-organized and exceptionally easy to manage. For each election, I receive detailed instructions for what I need to provide and when to provide it. All election information and ballot materials are double checked by SBS staff.

“SBS’ attention to detail and customer service continues to surpass my expectations.” ~ Pam Asfahani, Product Manager, Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation